Last week, Roger kicked off our acquisition ‘offensive’ for the year by focusing first on bringing the right mindset to the acquisition challenge. And that’s an investment mindset, based on understanding the lifetime value of your typical donor.

Of course it’s prudent to base your LTV calculations on the typical donor and set your prospecting investment level accordingly.

But if you need some extra motivation to take the plunge (or maybe help convince a reluctant Board member or CEO), introduce them to Elizabeth Verdow, a lifelong art teacher and museum volunteer who left $1.7 million to the Detroit Institute of Arts in her will.

I suspect we’ve all encountered or read of a ‘windfall’ bequest like this.

But actually, let me suggest that the only ‘windfall’ aspect of this story is that no one was aware of Ms. Verdow’s wealth. She told museum officials back in 2003 that she planned to leave the museum a gift, but never indicated the size. Although no one seems to have consciously nurtured her as a bequest prospect (‘only’ a public school art teacher, after all), one can only conclude that she received tremendous value and personal satisfaction from her nineteen year association with the Detroit Institute. And she then thanked them with her bequest.

Think about how you might deliver the kind of value and experience to your donors that might cause them to say ‘thank you’ so generously to you.

The Detroit Free Press quoted the museum’s planned giving officer: “It shows you how meaningful we can be to people, and that sometimes we have no idea how much they love us until they’re gone … If there’s anything bittersweet about this, it’s that we were never able to thank her and tell her how much this means to us.”

Nice words, but not good enough in my book. I would hope someone at the museum gave Elizabeth Verdow a huge ‘thank you’ — and maybe even a hug or two — each day she walked through the doors over those nineteen years.

Keep in mind Roger’s admonition that your ‘investment’ decision is not just about the amount you’re willing to spend up front to attract, it also involves the ongoing investment you’re prepared to make to earn the ‘thank you’ reflected in recurring gifts … and maybe even a bequest!

Tom